-1-

I followed Sara towards the window she had beckoned me towards, she pushed  the curtain all the way  back and I was  blinded by bright lights. It felt like something searing hot was being pushed into my  eye-- even when I was squinting but, I pretended like I was fine. I was learning that looking weak in front of Sara could get you killed. 

“ Okay ?” she asked in an amused tone.

“Yes,” I lied, “It’s just everything is kind of  bright. ”

“You’re  just not used to natural light,” she said putting a pair of shades in my hands, which I quickly put on.

“You know It’s a myth," I began," that the geodomes are enclosed--they  let in natural light-- it’s a common misconcep--,

“That in itself a common misconception,” she said,” The geodomes let in a synthetic version of natural light from bioflourescents. It is natural in a sense but, it isn’t sunlight from the sun. Sunlight is actually kind of hard to come by on this planet.,”

With the shades on I looked up to the sky and instead of the clear blue skies I was used to the sky was forecast in a muted blue, an almost blue-gray with heavy clouds looming in the sky. There were puffs of smoke coming from a distance and the desert ground was sprinkled with a fine white powder.

Sara picked up  a glossy red pot from the edge of the balcony that was filled with soil and a single beanstalk.  She stuck her hand in the deep brown soil and placed the dirt in my hand.

“This is where everything comes from,” she said turning her attention back to the pot  adjusting the beanstalk so it was  straight,”Or at least where it should come from anyway. It should come from the  earth and the ground not technology--,”

“I see,” I interrupted,” You’re one of those neo-luddites, who think technology is evil”

“No--not exactly,” she said

“Jean called you techno scum—,”

“That son of a bitch,”

“Doesn’t that mean someone who is an asshole but amazing with cybernetics and technology ? Aren’t you a hypocrite ? ,”

“I’m not a luddite,” she repeated “I just have strong beliefs about some aspects of tech  not the tech itself,”

“Because of your son ?,”

“No,” she said scooping the soil out of my hands,” “Because of my husband,”

I turned around to the window looking into the room and looked at the strong man hulking in the chair, the silent man who had saved me from the rubble.

“That man--,”

“No,” she cut me off, “He is not my husband, he is just a very good friend,”

“I don’t get it,”  I started “How is it you are married and have kids you have to be younger than--- I mean you can’t be over—um--,”

“It is a very long story,” she interrupted me, “ You have to go back a while—You know about the Serial Wars, I assume ?,”

 “The basics,” I said,” What does it have to do--,”

“Just tell me,” she said, “There is a point where our history’s diverege,”

“Well, the first battle started in 2014 with a conflict between the USSR and South Korea. The  USSR  won-- decimating South Korea . And all the world powers  got upset and started having other conflicts with the Red Axis,”

“Let’s skip to 2016, when it hit home. I know you Easterners leave parts out of your history books. Let’s talk the social change. The Shift,”

The Shift

That was the bleak time in State history that changed the face of the planet. After the Red Axis had taken power over its enemies and it set a goal for dissemination of the States.  It was the first call to war the country had gotten and there was a fierce political battle going on in the States about how to deal with the threat.

Some parties wanted to start peace talks with the Red Axis, others wanted America to start building defenses and reinstate the draft in case of an attack and others were ready to surrender. Not to mention there were social political struggles over Soviets who had taken asylum in the states. All of the most important people in the country were looking to Washington instead of looking to the skies.

Ignoring every rule of war and Geneva Convention standards the Red Axis threw a powerful nuclear bomb on to what was then California—with no warning. Within hours it was followed by one in every major city in every state.

Buildings collapsed, the entire country was a blaze and any country that could send help was already gone or tooafraid. Nearly every person was gone in a matter of minutes, no blood on anyone’s  hands.

The only people who survived unscathed were the soldiers already enlisted in the military and residing in the frontline nuclear protection shelters. In two nights the US population went from  300 billion to less than  4 million. Of those 4 million only 60,000 were females—most of whom had been in the military or who had survived somehow. It was dark period in State history that brought the country together for a while,but most were not ready to admit defeat

 The Red Axis gave the State a year to surrender and become part of their nation. The State remained neutral and was able to get help from her allies and rebuild a little bit. After 6 months of  neutrality the war started again and this time the United States took it personally.  The State defeated everyone of it’s enemies becoming  the  world's largest power. It’s only loss being that , less than .00005% of the population was female. It was an issue but, it was put under table so the country could work on reconstruction.  As soon as reconstruction was over the split happened creating the Former Western Republic and Eastern United States and dealing with the Shift was put under the table again.

The Shift referred to the gender shift of the male to female ratio. With the temporary infertility caused by the radiation poisoning it was a huge sociopolitical issue that they did not have the tech to fix at the time.

 The Shift  was still a big topic in dinner table philosophical or political debates today. My dad liked to say it could have gone different ways with females in the minority--being female could have given you more power in the world and could have completely switched the State’s views of gender roles.

 But, instead it went the opposite way. Just because the object of a man’s desire went away didn’t mean his desire went away as well.  Sex crimes increased against women  to a point where government made rape or  murder  against a woman illegal  punishable by capital punishment. Not that that stopped people--the only thing that did was start underground industries on how not to get caught and if a woman went missing there was a chance you’d never see her again.

A couple decades after the Shift they finally had a way of reliable gender selection for fetuses. But, at this point in time parents opted to chose to have boys because as a female they wouldn’t have to live in a country not really made for them anymore. Males didn’t have to live in a world of fear—that was the logic most people including my father used.

The government had never in the 60 years done anything to correct the shift aside from making new laws to protect sex crimes. There were legislatures who lobbied to give people benefits for having girls and other things but, the government decided it could not attempt to control the gender of its population.  Some people saw it as a way of corruption because at that point the government was a male majority and of course they would not want that changed.

“This is where our histories diverge” Sara said,” In the Western Republic no laws ever existed punishing crimes against women. Most laws here are a joke. Walking the streets sometimes can just be dangerous. In order to have any type of protection most girls get married young. It’s not hard after all—we really have our pick,”

Despite the noticeable shift in gender ratios, the States’  societal beliefs in the sanctioning of monogamous relationships hadn’t changed. To have a heterosexual sexual relationship was something everyone wanted but was considered a privilege.

“ I was only 15 when I got married to my husband, Derek.  He was one of my many suitors but, I was very attracted and instantly fell in love. He is excellent with cyberware and was a deckjockey-- a kind of programmer--  with a company that was later brought by the government.”

“What about your parents ? They were okay with you getting married so young ?,”

“My parents had dangerous jobs in the factories—they knew they wouldn’t live that long . They couldn’t help me so  I had to lean on Derek,”

“Your husband was abusive to you ?,” I said looking at the scars on her arm.

“Please,” she scoffed, “I could kick his ass. No, we were both very much in love,”

“Your husband was very lucky to have you,” I said, “But, I don’t see what this has to do with why you took me,”

“I was just setting the foundation,” she said, “The real truths have yet to come,”

--Part II--

-2-

“ I was still in school when I was with Derek but, I learned to live in his world-- it was fascinating to me. He had these beliefs about Veritas and the war and everything-- most called conspiracies.  He was always searching for  answers. One day at his job he  hacked into a secure government database. He  saw  and gathered some information to show me and I was disgusted by it. The government has been using the Republic to produce it's tech. All the fact was there.

Luce was young then and we realized that if anyone knew he stole the information it could put us all in danger so he decided to quit. When Derek tried to leave the company—they found out why and they came after him. We decided to just run with Luce out of the city where no one else would get hurt. We told no one.  After a year the government caught up to us  living in  an abandoned building. We were surrounded by military and  they  were going to kill us with gas. We were prepared with masks but somewhere along the way-- I had lost one so there were only two masks and there were three of us so— ”

“Of course, you would save your child,” I blurted out an unexpected sympathy for her coming out.

“Not so easy,” she sighed,” If Derek died, I lost my protection and I would be caught by some gang and killed or worse—this is the West after all. And then what for the Luce ?  They’d kill him and toss him aside. If I died Derek would have to keep running and they would eventually kill Derek.  Luce is so different-- no one would want him if he was an orphan.

He was better off dead. That was my decision. But, Derek pushed the mask on me and Luce and . . .  he was gone.  He fell instantly and they shot him dead in front of us and then they retreated since it would be unethical to kill me at this point. I was so lost because of that stupid Shift. Every corner I turned was a danger”

“What did you do . . . after ?” I asked

“I stopped being a victim,” she said,” I was still a teenager but, I knew everything Derek did and I became the best deckjockey I could.  I was going to fight for me and my family. I started learning from the best hackers and taking protection from them. I will do anything to avenge his death and the Republics corruption and I have. I don’t claim to be righteous but I am right.,"

I saw a small smile spread across her face.

" But, back to the war, last question, last key . . .  what was the war over ? Why did the USSR go after South Korea ? ,”

I thought back to the history class I had taken just last year.

“Some company that was auctioning off some kind of weapon-- some kind of power I forget the name--,”

“HF Corp, which makes uranium—nuclear weapons. The whole war was over nuclear power. After the Split uranium manufacturers quietly merged with the Eastern government militia to make uranium.  The Uranium that powers every bioflouresencnt , every Syndicate , every biofarm , everything in the East,”

“What your husband saw had something to do with the Uranium ?,”

“ Exactly. How is it one of the deadliest elements in the world makes your  precious car run without killing you every time you breath ? It’s the uranium testing they do on people in the East. That sound you hear  is the uranium factories that most honest Westerners work in because it’s our only option.”

Uranium. Nuclear Power. I knew they played a role in the War but, I had no idea it was what was making everything I depended on run. I never questioned what the U in car engines stood for.

“What about Kytoxcin it’s synthetic--,”

“It’s a synthetic form of Uranium that uses even more dangerous elements. It was invented in   the war as a cheap uranium substitute for bombs because it is produced quicker,”

I wondered if there were their missing pieces from Mr.Kyto’s war stories ? Did he really  create a chemical weapon he later used to make money off of. Sara was right my world was collapsing.

“I can’t believe no one in the East knows about this,” I said, “Most of us don’t question where our stuff comes from,”

“You don’t know the half of it,” she said, “It’s just cruel,”

“So, Jean and Minnie—they believe this too ?”

“I had to teach them to.  I needed a place to stay  after Derek died and they helped me. Minnie used to bring cookies and things by before we had to go on the run so, I knew them. We soon found our common interest and  they and Saint have helped me start our revolution, and with making money.”

I was trying to work out what exactly they did to make money  but, there was something or someone bigger I was missing.

“Saint ?,” I questioned 

“Right,” she said “Come, I’ll introduce you to your savior,”

She walked me back inside and over to the silent man who has been sitting at the desk.  He slowly turned towards me and this time, the silver cross in his head was undeniable.

He  really was a saint.

The saints where armed forces who helped bring the East/West conflict to an end. And while they were no longer needed the government kept the program around in case of another unrest. Saints  were soldiers who gave up their lives to protect others. They were required to be single, family-less men who were castrated and   biofused with technology to be the highest skilled warriors, they were a force that could not be beaten.The training was top secret and  took 8 years and once they became official a mini silver cross was pierced in their foreheads , signifying  they were property of the government and can never have normal lives.

Their work was so classified that if one ever went off the grid the technology in their brain defaulted them to commit suicide. That also happened when a saint decided he wanted to “retire”.  Which meant, he couldn’t be one. Could he ?

“How ?” I asked

“This is Saint,” she said,”That’s all anyone needs to know as far as names go. He seems to have an affinity for you,”

I looked at his strong hands--he was the one who had lifted me out the rubble, he was the one who had taken me out of the cell and left food for me.  I knew I was staring but, he looked so human.

“Thank you,” I said

“Don’t thank me,” he said in a deep voice

The door swung  open and Jean came in with a tray of inflated plastic bags.

“Who wants rations ?,” he quipped and the noticed Sara and I ,” Aw, look Sara is playing nicely,”

She ignored the comment and took a seat on the bed with her sons and began unwrapping the food.

-3-

  I sat in the armchair across from the Dorys and Jean handing me the hot plastic bag, it looked like some kind of  half-assed attempt at rice and beans.

It wasn’t the worst thing I had  and I picked at it I tried to process all the information that had been dumped on me.  So, this country hadn’t resisted joining the East—the government needed Republican man power to  produce uranium. So, all the advances on science were made on these people’s backs.

My car had a U235 engine, that meant uranium—even a great man like Mr.Kyto had used uranium to bring this world to its knees. But did that denote all the good or pleasure it brought ?

“She told me everything,” I said to Jean  ,”I’m sorry if my way of life affects yours but,I--,”

“Breathe, sweet brother,” he said,” Minnow and I are not really Republicans like Sara—we are  just Easterners  who have a strong  belief in living in deep reality ---well, one of us more than the other.”

He turned his gaze to Minne who was looking off into her syndicate.

 “ A while back we went to a 29 factory—where the shit is made and I saw it,” Jean said,” The shit they do and I can’t stand for it. It all just needs to be taken down, brother,”

I could not believe the ignorance, I had been living in.

“Good news !,” Minnie said turning off her syndicate and sitting up,” There is a cease fire and the area is clear, they caught the bastards and  we can go back home,”

Jean let out a cry followed by a ‘thank god,’ from Sara.

They quickly gathered their things and headed for the hotel room door. Sara had her baby around her waist in a swaddle  and held Luce’s hand as she headed for  crowd  migrating to the stairs. I touched her shoulder to stop her.

“Ms,” I started

“Are you fucking kidding me ?” she said,”Ms. ?”

“Look, I know you want to use me as an example but, why not let me help you ? My death accomplishes nothing,  If I can help you end the bad practices well—that’s good ?,”

 “Do you even know what we do ?,”

“Yes, you want to stop government corruption --,”

“No,  that’s our goal. I mean for money, joying around doesn’t pay for cred and the top tech. It cost us 10k to get someone to make Saint and I pass in the East to kidnap you—which turned out to be a mistake. Nobody holds necktie fundraisers for our cause,”

I was at a loss, I had never thought of money, it never occurred to me none of these people have day jobs.

“I know you’re a fugitive so,--

 “ I’m going to give it to you straight,” she said lowering her voice, “Our job is to  end situations on the black market, underground organizations and other less savory people—we end them violently. Do you understand ?,”

So, they weren’t  a gang or organized crime they were worse--they were contracted killers. The people the crime lords called on when they couldn’t get their hands dirty.  The kind of people who populated popular fiction and movies. No wonder she had no qualms about death-- had she killed men with the same  hands she was know holding her children with ?

Saint stayed close to me as we were ushered into the streets of the dust covered earth. If I tried to escape something told me he would have no problem stopping me. I kept my feet moving walking through the desert floor that was dusted in white.

 “Why is there snow on the ground ?,” I asked. It had to be 90 degrees

“Fall out from nuclear winter,” Sara replied,” It never goes away because there is always nuclear activity going on,”

In the middle of the desert there was a line of trains waiting to take people from the safe house back to the city.We boarded the rusty  metal train as it glided across the deserted desert on elevated tracks  back into the city. From my place on the train I looked down and  I saw the tops of building much like the ones in the South District where I lived. We got off at the first stop and that’s when I noticed everything was leaning sideways.

“Shit!,” cursed Minnie going towards a block where the square homes pushed side by side were still standing relatively straight except one that had a   gaping hole in the side. The front door of that home had been completely knocked completely of its hinges

“Well,” smiled Jean, “It’s a good thing we live in the basement,”

Sara reached in her bag and took out a handful of small weapons  and tossed a glock to  Jean and small pink automated pistol to Minnie. She led them walking carefully through the busted door. I had never seen this part of their house. It looked like a normal living room if you ignored the damage. Everything in  house had  shifted with the building. There were large chunks of wall and ceiling on the floor.

 “Is anybody in here !” Sara shouted  and she was  met with silence. She quickly turned over a fallen  armchair and placed her baby and Luce in it and stood by what I assumed was the basement door.She waved the Dorys over and I somehow ended up between Minnie and Jean who were keeping me with them.

She slowly crept down the stairs with Minnie and Jean following behind, Minnie was keeping me in front of her so I was forced to go down with them.  Sara was about to turn on a light at the bottom of the stairs when a knife came from behind the staircase railing aimed at her neck. She dropped her gun to take the knife away from the man and I immediately picked up the fallen weapon to kill her.

Atleast that is what I should have done.

Instead I shot the man holding the knife and he fell.

“Fucking looters,” she said under her breath not even bother to see that I had picked up her gun. Sara turned to Saint who effortlessly picked the man up and carried him upstairs.

“If there’s not too much blood on that shirt, I’d like to have it brother--,” Jean said following Saint up the stairs Minnie going after.

“What the fuck was that ?” Sara laughed when we were alone. She walked up to me and snatched her weapon from me. ”You think if you kill a man-excuse me a looter-- I’ll let you join our little club,”

“I think I was aiming for you,” I replied honestly.

She knelt down and taking a rag from the ground she soaked up the blood.

“A glitterboy like you--,”

“Why do you call me that ?,”

“A little rich boy like you thinks you belong here ?,”

“I’m just confused,”

“Fine, I will spare your life,” she said,” I like fresh blood, it's very disposable. You can live with us, you will have help us . . .  If you can handle it,”

“I can handle a lot,” I said. I wasn't sure if it was true but, I had survived this.

“Fine,” she said,” The upstairs is in ruins so, I will be in moving down in the spare room—you will have to move in with the Dorys.”

I could hardly deal with their eccentricities when we weren’t in  a confined bedroom.

“I don’t think I want to be in the same room as  a married couple,” I admitted

She smiled

“ Jean and Minnie aren’t married. Minnie is Jean’s little sister,” she said unlocking a door,” “Can you handle that ?,”

She opened the door and disappeared behind it.